Chapter 29: Stealing a Chicken, Losing the Rice
Chen Jiayan reacted immediately after hearing Chen Taining's shout. What had she just done? Was she crazy? In an instant, her already pale face turned even paler.
Chen Jiayan is not a fool. She knows very well what what she just did means in the eyes of netizens. Besides, given Chen Taining's personality, he will not let her go.
So what should she do to break this dilemma? Suddenly she remembered Chen Taining's deliberate fainting in the morning.
She was so frightened now that it seemed normal for her to faint.
Thinking of this, Chen Jiayan closed her eyes and fainted on Chen Taining.
[Huh? Did Chen Jiayan faint from shock?]
[I was really dizzy and collapsed on Xiao Ning.]
"I hope my sister won't get scared into anything serious. I'm really worried about her."
Poor Jiayan was so scared, and was even called selfish by so many people.
[The rubbish production team suddenly made trouble and scared the guests like this.]
This is truly incredible. The younger brother fainted in the morning, and the older sister fainted in the afternoon. Is this really a coincidence?
Some people shouldn't be too harsh. Xiaoning suffered from heatstroke, and Jiayan was frightened. The reasons are completely different. This show is not easy to begin with, and a guest was injured last season.
Chen Taining was also dumbfounded when he looked at Chen Jiayan in his arms. He hadn't even settled the score with her yet, and she fainted?
But he also knew that he and Chen Jiayan were on the same boat, and he couldn't undermine her in public.
So he could only pretend to be worried and shouted to Chen Jiayan, "Sister, sister, what's wrong with you?"
Seeing that a guest had fainted, the staff members who played the NPCs naturally did not dare to continue their scary work. Some staff members directly assisted Chen Taining in carrying Chen Jiayan out of the secret passage.
So what everyone waiting in the garden saw was Chen Taining carrying Chen Jiayan out of the secret passage with an anxious look on his face, and the staff dressed as ghosts followed behind them.
Xu Bo's face changed immediately. After calling a doctor, he quickly asked the staff what happened.
After watching the live broadcast again, Xu Bo was speechless. He knew that Chen Jiayan had the correct answer, so he didn't believe that Chen Jiayan would faint from the secret room. It was probably to cover up the fact that he had just pulled Chen Taining to avoid disaster.
Xu Bo was speechless. How could these two siblings pretend to faint within the same day? Wouldn't this arouse suspicion?
Gu Nansheng, who was standing by, also guessed what had happened based on what the staff said.
She felt amused in her heart. Chen Jiayan's IQ was really getting lower and lower.
But she wanted to pretend to be unconscious, didn't she? Then let her pretend to be unconscious.
Thinking this, Gu Nansheng said to Xu Bo, "Director Xu, I'm afraid the accompanying medical team doesn't have enough equipment. I suggest sending Miss Chen to the city hospital for a comprehensive physical examination. Nothing is more important than good health. A sudden fainting could be a serious matter."
Xu Bo also had many complaints about Chen Jiayan, but his eyes immediately lit up when he heard Gu Nansheng's suggestion.
Yes, why didn’t he think of taking advantage of the situation?
He nodded and said to the staff, "Please send Miss Chen to the city hospital. She really needs a thorough checkup after fainting so suddenly."
Chen Jiayan, who was pretending to be unconscious, heard the conversation between the two and became very anxious.
This Gu Nansheng is so despicable that he actually came up with such a wicked idea.
The city is a three-hour drive away, and considering the time needed for examination at the hospital, she won't have to record tomorrow's show.
But she had also prepared Qin Shang's stunning appearance for tomorrow, and she absolutely couldn't let this be ruined.
So she slowly opened her eyes and said in a weak voice, "Director, no need~ I just got scared suddenly."
Then she "struggled" to sit up and said, "I'm sorry to have worried everyone. I'm a little timid and afraid of being frightened, so when I encountered the ghost that suddenly jumped out, my brain lost consciousness for a while, but I will be fine after a while. There's no need to go to the hospital."
Then she said to Chen Taining beside her, "Xiao Ning, help me stand up."
Although Chen Taining was very dissatisfied with Chen Jiayan in his heart, he still helped Chen Jiayan stand up as he was told.
After Chen Jiayan stood up, she bowed several times to the crowd and the camera, saying with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry for making everyone worry."
Her appearance made the fans in the live broadcast room feel distressed.
[Jiayan fainted and still apologized to others for making them worry. She is so kind and sensible.]
[She was clearly the one who felt the most wronged, yet she only worried about others worrying about her.]
[Just now I doubted Jiayan's heartlessness. How could she, who is so kind, faint on purpose? ]
However, for netizens who were already suspicious of her, Chen Jiayan's actions made them even more suspicious.
[This is hilarious! The director just said he was sending her to the hospital for a thorough checkup, and she woke up. Is this really such a coincidence?]
[He probably knew that going to the hospital would expose his true identity, so he had to wake up.]
Chen Jiayan refused to go to the hospital, and Xu Bo couldn't force her to go. He could only nod and say, "Then you should have a good rest. If you can't persist in the challenge tomorrow, just let me know."
Seeing Xu Bo finally relent, Chen Jiayan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Director, I know I will do my best, but I'm much better now and should be able to continue recording tomorrow."
Gu Nansheng knew in her heart that Chen Jiayan would never agree to go to the hospital. The reason why she suggested Xu Bo to send Chen Jiayan to the hospital was just to scare her and make her reveal her true identity.
It was obvious that Chen Jiayan had taken the bait. If she had dared to pretend to be unconscious, Gu Nansheng would have admired her. But she chickened out when she was told to go to the hospital. How boring!
But now that the director has given in, she, as a guest, naturally can't say anything more.
However, she had a hunch. Judging from Chen Jiayan's resolute attitude about participating in the recording tomorrow, she had reason to believe that Chen Jiayan would definitely put on another big show tomorrow. She was actually looking forward to it.
*
After Chen Jiayan's unexpected incident, everyone lost interest in chatting.
After listening to the director announce the results of the competition, everyone returned to their own residences.
After returning to the hotel, Chen Jiayan couldn't wait to go into the bathroom, turn on her mobile phone to surf the Internet, and began to observe online public opinion.
She felt that she had performed quite well today. Although there was the last unexpected incident, it should have been resolved with her wit.
However, when she saw the comments from netizens, she was stunned on the spot.
Although there were many comments from internet trolls and fans praising her and understanding her remarks, more netizens suspected that she had a script and was pretending to be unconscious, and saw through her complacent tactics clearly.
In an instant, Chen Jiayan felt her brain was congested, and this time she almost fainted in the bathroom.
It took her a while to come back to her senses. She absolutely did not believe that netizens were so smart that they could guess everything on their own. It must be Gu Nansheng who hired internet trolls to stir up trouble.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but hold the phone tighter.
This Gu Nansheng is always against me! Then don't blame me for dealing with her.
Thinking of this, she called Qin Shang and complained to him openly and secretly. Qin Shang was naturally heartbroken.
After learning that some guests were targeting Chen Jiayan, he felt even more distressed and immediately said, "Yanyan, don't worry, I'll call Mr. Chu right away and I'll make sure they assign the Gu siblings the hardest and most tiring work."
Chen Jiayan felt much happier. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I think there must be something wrong with Gu Nansheng. How could an ordinary person do this? Can you help me investigate her again?"
After getting Qin Shang's assurance, Chen Jiayan hung up the phone.
She was in a very good mood at the moment. There was no such thing as a perfect person without any black material in this world. She must peel off Gu Nansheng's skin and then expose her shameful past to the public.
Then she will see if Gu Nansheng can still be as arrogant as she is now!
*
After a good night’s sleep, it was soon the last day of recording.
The gathering place is located in the Folk Custom Square in the center of the ancient town. Due to the popularity of "Tacit Understanding Challenge", the square is surrounded by residents and tourists.
So when all the guests arrived, they could hear the onlookers around them shouting their names.
Song Shuyi laughed and joked, "I didn't expect that recording this variety show would actually feel like a concert. In fact, the only time I envied singers before was when they were performing concerts. It was so glorious."
As she spoke, she waved and greeted the onlookers around her.
Song Shuyi already had a high national popularity, and the moment the crowd saw her waving, the cheers were even louder.
Seeing this, Gu Nansheng admired people like Song Yinghou from the bottom of her heart. She felt that she would never be able to enjoy the attention of others as naturally as she did.
Fortunately, she was not a celebrity, so after solving Gu Beiming's problem, she returned to her post.
However, the voices shouting "Gu Nansheng" were so enthusiastic that she had to reach out her hand to greet everyone, and then she received even more enthusiastic cheers from the onlookers.
As for Gu Beiming, the voices calling him were also very loud, but he had always been aloof, so he just stretched out his hand and waved at everyone, and then stopped looking at the audience.
Chen Jiayan and her brother also appeared at this time. They had their usual smiles on their faces and kept bowing to the people around them, looking very humble.
Comparing the two, Chen Jiayan’s army will naturally not give up this opportunity to pull down others.
The Chen siblings are so kind, they should be very grateful to their fans.
What's with the Gu siblings' attitude? Just a wave of their hands and no other reaction? It really is a noble 2.08 million.
[You're really too arrogant. Don't you have any feelings for your fans? ]
[Wait, they're just not that enthusiastic, what does that have to do with arrogance?]
Did they do anything outrageous to deserve such criticism?
The live broadcast room was in an argument again. Fortunately, Xu Bo came on stage to announce today's task, and everyone had no time to continue arguing.
Xu Bo was visibly upset when he thought about the phone call he'd received from the higher-ups early that morning. He hadn't expected Chen Jiayan to ask the higher-ups to put pressure on their production team again after failing to achieve her goal! This time, she'd even asked them to tamper with the Gu siblings' mission!
He was very reluctant, but faced with the coercion from higher-ups, he really couldn't say no. After all, he was middle-aged and had a whole family to support.
Thinking of this, he sighed and could only say sorry to Gu Nansheng and Gu Beiming in his heart.
He then forced a smile onto his face again, announcing to the crowd as if nothing had happened, "Welcome everyone to the Folk Customs Square. Nanping Town is not only rich in historical architecture, but also boasts traditional folk customs. Our challenge today is to experience various traditional folk customs."
"Next, we will draw lots to decide which traditional folk custom everyone will experience. The order of the draw will be based on yesterday's competition points. At the same time, it is important to note that the traditional activities cannot use modern technology, and guests must complete the tasks themselves."
"First, please welcome Gu Nansheng and Gu Beiming."
Gu Nansheng had a hunch that Chen Jiayan was definitely going to cause trouble. After hearing the rule that modern technology was not allowed to be used, she became even more certain of her guess.
In this case, wouldn't drawing lots according to the original order provide Chen Jiayan with the best opportunity to cause trouble?
Thinking of this, she smiled and said, "Director, I think it's really boring to draw lots according to the previous order. Besides, the lottery is based on luck. This is not a benefit at all for us who finally got first place. I have a suggestion. Why not let the first place decide the order of the draw from now on?"
Xu Bo was already very dissatisfied with Chen Jiayan's troublemaking, and his eyes lit up when he heard Gu Nansheng's proposal.
Moreover, this was an accident that happened at the last minute, so the higher-ups couldn't give him any trouble.
So he nodded immediately and said, "It does make sense."
When Chen Jiayan heard what Gu Nansheng said, she immediately panicked. She asked the staff to tamper with the lottery box to ensure that Gu Nansheng, the first person to draw, would draw the most difficult and tough project.
Moreover, she knew that Gu Nansheng was used to finding loopholes in the program team, so she deliberately added the rule of "no use of modern technology".
Although there is no way to ruin Gu Nansheng's reputation for the time being, it is always good to torture her body.
If the order of drawing lots is changed now, what is the point of her playing?
Thinking of this, she said, "I'm afraid this isn't a good idea. After all, the rules have already been set, and changing them temporarily wouldn't be a good idea."
Gu Nansheng had already thought of an explanation and immediately asked, "But drawing lots is all about luck, right? Or does Ms. Chen think that changing the order of the draw will have a significant impact on the show?"
Chen Jiayan's words were stuck in her throat. If she stubbornly refused to change the order of the draw, wouldn't that be admitting that the order was rigged?
She could only smile awkwardly and said, "That's not what I meant. I just think that once the rules are set, they should be followed. But if everyone agrees, I have no objection."
Chen Jiayan prayed in her heart, hoping that the other two groups of guests would oppose Gu Nansheng's proposal.
However, Song Shuyi and Ye Ze clearly didn't care about the order of the draw. They both said nonchalantly, "Indeed, the draw is all about luck. Since Nan Sheng said so, let's do it."
The smile on Chen Jiayan's face froze for a moment, but when she heard Gu Nansheng's words, she could no longer maintain the smile on her face.
"How about this, since Miss Chen is so concerned about the order, then she can draw the lot first. We can't let her feel at a disadvantage."
She had already ordered someone to tamper with the first lottery box. Wouldn't she get the option she had originally prepared for Gu Nansheng when she drew it?
She forced a smile and refused, "How can that be? After all, you're number one in points. How can I be the first to draw lots?"
Seeing Chen Jiayan's refusal, Gu Nansheng became even more certain that there must be something wrong with the first draw. If that was the case, how could she let Chen Jiayan escape?
So she turned to Chen Jiayan and said, "Jiayan, you don't want to be the first to draw lots. Do you think there's something wrong with the first draw?"
Chen Jiayan was already feeling guilty, and when Gu Nansheng asked her this, she didn't dare to refute him. She could only reluctantly say, "I don't think there's a problem, I just feel it's not very good. But since you've said so, I naturally won't refuse."
As she spoke, she walked forward and pulled out a note from the box.
Then she opened the note and saw three words written on it - making glutinous rice cakes.
Chen Jiayan's heart suddenly skipped a beat. She was not very familiar with making glutinous rice cakes, but she had seen it in tourist areas before. This job was not easy and was very strenuous.
If it was as she originally expected, and Gu Nansheng had to suffer like this, she would definitely be very happy, but now she is the one who suffers!
Soon, Gu Nansheng, Song Shuyi and Ye Ze also drew lots in turn, and drew the tasks of cutting window flowers, weaving bamboo baskets and making lanterns respectively.
Seeing this result, Chen Jiayan felt dizzy. Their challenge was so easy!
If she had known that Gu Nansheng would outmaneuver her, she would have rather not done this.
But things had already come to this, and Chen Jiayan had no choice but to face reality and take Chen Taining with her to the place where glutinous rice cakes were made, along with the staff.
*
Gu Nansheng and Gu Beiming followed the staff to a window paper-cutting shop, where several women in their fifties were carefully cutting window paper-cuts.
Upon seeing them arrive, a woman in a cheongsam immediately stood up and greeted them with a smile. "Welcome, welcome! I've watched every episode of your show. Miss Gu and Xiao Ming, I love you both so much. Miss Gu, you're really amazing."
Gu Nansheng smiled and responded, "Thank you for the compliment. It just happened that I came across something I've learned before."
The two were then welcomed into the teahouse, and the owner sent the most patient and skilled old craftsman in their shop to guide them.
The two siblings were not actually good at handicrafts, but under the teacher's careful guidance, they quickly cut out some pretty good paper-cuts.
Compared to the easy life of Gu Nansheng and the others, Chen Jiayan and her brother's life is not so easy.
They followed the staff to a shop that specializes in selling glutinous rice cakes. The shop also has a yard for tourists to visit.
At this time, a strong man with his upper body naked was standing in the yard, hammering the glutinous rice cake in the wooden barrel with a sledgehammer, and beads of sweat on his body slid down with his movements.
Seeing this scene, Chen Jiayan's face turned pale instantly. This was more terrifying than she had imagined.
Not to mention making glutinous rice cakes, she definitely couldn't even lift that sledgehammer.
At this time, a discussion also broke out in the live broadcast room.
[Making glutinous rice cakes doesn't look easy. The guy demonstrating it is so muscular.]
This folk custom experience isn't set up quite right. The other three groups' experiences were all very gentle, but making glutinous rice cakes was the only physically demanding experience. Were the production team really trying to tease the Chen siblings?
[But isn't this a lottery? Whoever draws it will be unlucky.]
Chen Taining's face also darkened. He knew very well that this kind of strenuous activity would require a lot of strength from him.
But he didn't want to be like the "low-class person" in front of him, swinging a sledgehammer with his upper body exposed and in an unpresentable manner.
He turned his head and looked at Chen Jiayan, "Sister, this..."
Chen Jiayan saw through Chen Taining's thoughts at a glance. He simply wanted her to find a way to prevent him from making glutinous rice cakes.
She couldn't help but feel angry. Other brothers would stand up to protect their sisters and take responsibility at this time, but what about him?
What could she do now? Even if she wanted to leave quickly, she had to pretend first!
Chen Jiayan could only say, "Xiaoning, why don't you follow and learn first? Maybe you can learn some tricks."
After saying that, she turned to the burly man who was pounding glutinous rice cakes and said, "Sir, we are here to experience making glutinous rice cakes. Are there any techniques involved?"
The strong man had already been instructed by the program team, so he slowed down his movements and demonstrated carefully.
Finally, he said, "But the most important thing about making glutinous rice cakes is strength. How about this, young man over there, come over here and I'll teach you first."
Chen Taining was stunned. It was starting already? And why did it start with him first?
Chen Jiayan, adhering to the idea that it's better to let a friend die than to let me die, immediately chimed in, "Xiao Ning, why don't you give it a try first? Maybe it's not as difficult as we thought."
After all, it was a public place, and Chen Taining didn't dare to refuse openly. He could only reluctantly step forward and accept the strong man's guidance.
However, as soon as he put his hand on the sledgehammer and was about to lift it, he was shocked by its weight. How could it be so heavy?
He finally raised the sledgehammer to the height of the strong man's finger, but then his hand felt sore and the sledgehammer fell down instantly and hit the ground.
The sturdy man frowned immediately, "Young man, you look quite tall, why are you so weak?"
Chen Taining was immediately furious at being evaluated like this. How dare this person say that to him! If this wasn't in public, he would definitely find someone to deal with him.
But now he could only bear it and explained, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect this to be so heavy. It's much heavier than the dumbbells in the gym."
The strong man was not good at speaking, so he nodded and let him continue practicing.
Then he turned his head to look at Chen Jiayan who was standing beside him. He still felt a little worried about this delicate-looking woman.
"Miss, would you like to experience making glutinous rice cakes too?"
Chen Jiayan wanted to refuse outright, but this didn't align with the hardworking and ambitious persona she had always portrayed. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "This does seem a bit heavy for me, but since we've come this far, I might as well give it a try."
The sturdy man was quite satisfied with Chen Jiayan's answer. He nodded and said, "Okay, then come here and try it. I'll find you a lighter wooden hammer."
Chen Jiayan is used to fitness and is quite strong, but she knows that now is not the time for her to show off her strength. She also plans to put on a show to completely get rid of making glutinous rice cakes.
She followed the strong man to another place where glutinous rice cakes were made, and lifted the wooden hammer as if she was trying very hard.
However, when she raised the wooden hammer above her head, her hand seemed to suddenly lose strength, and the wooden hammer in her hand slipped and hit her foot.
Suddenly, Chen Jiayan let out a scream, and everyone looked towards her.
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